Summer PD opportunities

For some, Summer is a great time to "catch-up" on professional development - less hassle, fewer time pressures.  There are a number of opportunities and alternatives available.

From MassCUE:

Going Google, a 4 part online seminar focused on hands-on application of basic Google tools like Drive, Docs, Blogger, with immediate payback.

Creating The Flipped Classroom, a 4 part online seminar which focuses mostly on the practical elements of how to, what tools you need to make it happen successfully.

MassCue's full line-up of summer PD courses


From TEC (in Dedham)

Elegant Technologies that improves Teaching & Learning, an in-person and online 3 day seminar.
"This course will focus on “elegant” technologies that are both powerful and easy to use, giving you the resources, knowledge, and skills you  need to see the possibilities of and take advantage of thoughtfully implemented technology."

Energize Your Classroom is a two day in-person seminar that provides opportunities for collaborative inspiration about how to use readily available, often free, resources as assistive technologies to reach all learners.

Social Media: How we Could (and Should) be Using Social Media in Schools is a 2 day in-person and online line seminar designed to demystify social media and to encourage educators to use
social media tools to promote learning, collaboration and communication.

From SlideRule:

SlideRule is a web portal to numerous online training vendors - Coursera, Khan Academy, Udacity, MIT, Lynda and others.  Courses are offered in a very wide array of topics and levels, free or $$$.  Simple, fast, effective search tool to find what you are looking for.  Has a decent selection of no or low cost courses on various technology topics, such as:
Google Docs, Google Docs and Drive for Educators, Google Earth for Educators, Video editing with Movie Maker, and Flipping the Classroom.


And while these PD opportunities are all focused on using technology in the classroom and/or as integral to your curriculum, let's not forget "it's not about the tech, it's about the learning".  Technology is not a substitute for good lesson planning, preparation and good teaching practice.  This recent blog post from George Couros, an education leader and principal in Toronto, Canada, reinforces this notion.  George was a keynote speaker at the MassCUE Spring conference this year and his message was pretty clear - the technology can be really cool, but the key factor is still the teacher.  Technology can extend and enhance your instruction, but not substitute.  Check out more interesting insights and opinions on his blog Connect Principals.